Eurotopics.net

Five Covid patients died in a fire in a Bucharest hospital on Friday. Just last November another ten people had perished in a hospital fire. In December the Ministry of the Interior presented a report listing more than 1,900 deficiencies in Romania's hospitals. Yet apparently no further measures had been taken - much to the dissatisfaction of commentators.

Small investors have caused billions in losses for the US hedge fund Melvin Capital. The fund had been short selling the stock of computer games retailer Gamestop because the latter's share prices had dropped over recent months. But in a coordinated hit against the hedge fund, small investors joined forces and began snapping up Gamestop shares, causing the stock price to soar. Commentators hope the coup will lead to lasting changes in the financial world.

A heated debate about the culture of remembrance has reignited in Lithuania after Valdas Rakutis, a conservative MP and military historian, argued in an op-ed published on Holocaust Remembrance Day that the Jews themselves were partly to blame for the Shoah. He pointed out among other things that there had been Holocaust perpetrators among the Jews themselves in the ghettos. His subsequent attempts at appeasement failed to prevent a wave of indignation.

Tensions eased in the row between the EU and Astrazeneca over the weekend. The vaccine manufacturer announced that it would deliver several million more doses to the EU by the end of March, albeit only half of the amount originally promised. Commentators lambaste the EU's performance in this crucial matter.

Small investors have caused billions in losses for US hedge fund Melvin Capital. The fund had bet against computer games retailer Gamestop in a practice called shorting after the latter's share prices dropped in recent months. But in a coordinated hit against the hedge fund small investors joined forces and began snapping up Gamestop shares, causing the stock to soar. Europe's press says the case highlights the Janus-faced nature of the financial markets.